


Chance Meeting

by dragonshost



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, Post-Tartaros Arc (Fairy Tail), takes place during the timeskip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-14
Updated: 2018-08-14
Packaged: 2019-06-27 06:21:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15679752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonshost/pseuds/dragonshost
Summary: By chance, Jellal happens upon Lucy's training ground one night.





	Chance Meeting

"Lucy?"

The reporter nearly jumped a foot in the air at the sudden address. There wasn't supposed to be anyone around here! Still startled, and her heart pounding in her ears, she slowly turned to face the person speaking to her.

Another jolt of adrenaline surged through her at the unexpected individual gazing at her curiously. "J-Jellal?" she stuttered.

Amused, he nodded. "Yes. I'm surprised to see you out here. Not many people come to these parts - mostly just dark guilds." He paused, then added. "And those that hunt them. Which begs the question… why  _are_  you here?"

Lucy let out a light laugh, though it sounded false even to her own ears. "Well… it's a quiet place to train?"

"Ah, I see." After a moment, he mused, "I suppose fighting dark guilds on your own  _could_  be construed as training - if a bit of a dangerous regimen."

Outmaneuvered, Lucy sighed. "Okay, okay. You got me. I can train on my own all I want but if I don't have opponents to test my skills out on, my new abilities won't be of any use in combat. I'm not going to drag my teammates down."

Her last words were soft, if firm. Although… Jellal detected a bitter edge to them, of regret and pain. Feelings he understood well. "Try to be careful, all the same" he told her. "The guilds in this area are particularly dangerous - even for a team like my own."

She nodded, taking his advice as it was meant. "I got it. I won't push myself too far. So," Lucy smiled up at him, "I take it your team is here, too?"

Jellal indicated behind him with a jerk of his thumb. "A couple of miles back that way. I was scouting the perimeter. We've gotten some more members since I last saw you. They're an odd bunch, but they're trying. …I would assume Erik is eavesdropping on us, though."

Lucy vaguely wondered who this 'Erik' was, and how he was able to hear them from 'a couple miles back.' "That's good, then! And how's Meredy?"

"She's fine. Meredy's quite taken with the new members. In fact, she's recently started… mothering them all."

A giggle arose from the blonde celestial wizard. "I can imagine! And… Ultear?"

Jellal hesitated. "That's… complicated."

Lucy held up a hand. "If you don't want to explain, that's fine."

"…Thank you."

"No problem. Hey, Jellal?" Lucy asked.

"Yes?"

"Promise me you won't go overboard either, okay?" At his perplexed stare, she shrugged. "You're the type to commit fully to whatever you're doing. But you have what sounds like an amazing…  _family_ … to return to. So promise me you'll try to be safe for them? That you'll try to be happy, too?"

He stared at her for a long moment. "I will try," Jellal finally conceded after a few minutes. "But my mission comes before my personal well-being. Happiness is… something I must earn. My sins…"

"Are in the past," Lucy interrupted him. "Trust me, wanting happiness doesn't make you selfish. And even if it did… that amount of selfishness is alright. Taking care of yourself isn't a bad thing."

A long silence befell the pair, as Jellal digested what she said.

"…I'm sorry about Fairy Tail," he told her.

"Yeah," she said, with a sad smile. "Me too."


End file.
